Two and a half years since the groundbreaking ceremony and beginning of construction of the NC Korean War Veterans Memorial in the Park on Fairview, construction is 85 percent complete.

The granite sign was first, then came the footings and construction of the four-foot tall brick wall planter, topped with 80 green boxwood plants.

Plumbing PCV lines were laid, connecting the fountain in the center of the memorial and the irrigation system to the planter and trees. A 1,000-gallon tank to supply the water has been buried and is ready to be hooked up to the main water supply line. Electrical conduit lines to the in-ground lighting throughout the memorial are ready for wiring to the control panel. A six-inch concrete flooring was poured and an additional amount of concrete was added on four sections in the center that will be covered with Astroturf. Two life-size granite statues, one dressed in a poncho and the other in class A uniform, stand guard at the four 14-foot tall granite pylons with the names of the 788 men from North Carolina who were killed or are listed as missing in action during the Korean War.

Loads of four-inch granite slabs were placed starting at the sign and moving down into and through the memorial. On many of the slabs are more than 400 engraved memorial pavers remembering and honoring “veterans of all wars.” Stainless steel handrails have been manufactured and await installation on the two handicap ramps leading to the fountain and Hallowed area of the memorial. The center is the water fountain with the South Korean flag, the “Taeguk,” colored in red and blue with fiber-optic lighting at night.

The Armed Forces Museum & Archives of the Carolinas (AFMAC) will present a documentary honoring ex-prisoners of war at three venues. On Saturday, May 26, at the Mint Hill Historical Society’s Ashcraft Schoolhouse, 7601 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, showings are at 9:30 am and 10:30 am (space is limited). Other showings are Saturday, May 26, at […]

The organizers of the new North Carolina Korean War Veterans Memorial in Mint Hill held a Korean Appreciation Day at the Park on Fairview Sunday. More than 300 tuned out for the event which was an appreciation for the Korean communities in Charlotte and the South for helping to finance the new memorial. Don Putnam, […]